AI-powered startup Backflip Inc. has received $30 million, closing a Series A funding round led by NEA and Andreessen Horowitz. The round also saw participation from such angel investors as Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott, Android founder Rich Miner, and Ashish Vaswani, co-creator of the Transformer neural network. Founded in 2022 by Greg Mark and David Benhaim, Backflip is on a mission to transform the traditional time-consuming 3D modeling with its innovative AI platform. With Markforged Inc., a major supplier of 3D printers, already in their portfolio, the founding duo demonstrates no shortage of ambition.
Conventional 3D modeling, integral to creating blueprints for 3D printing, typically involves hours, if not days of manual work. Engineers commonly design models in CAD software by filling gaps in point clouds, which requires much labor, especially for intricate designs like engine parts or waterproof objects. Backflip’s AI platform aims to eliminate most of this effort, enabling users to generate 3D models in mere minutes using text descriptions, photos, or sketches.
“Our technology provides 60x more efficient training, 10x faster inference, and 100x the spatial resolution of existing methods,” said Benhaim. The system, trained on a dataset of 10 million 3D blueprints, boasts a novel neural representation that allows AI to “think in 3D.”
Supporting such materials as metal, carbon fiber, and plastic, the platform offers faster, more efficient workflows for engineers and manufacturers across various sectors, including aerospace, defense, and transportation.
